Special Considerations for Promoting Metadata from Earlier SAS Versions to SAS 9.3

Special Considerations for Promoting Content to SAS 9.3 from an Earlier SAS Version

You can export a package from a SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 metadata server and import it to a SAS 9.3 metadata server. This capability is useful in the following situations:
  • You are upgrading from SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 to SAS 9.3, but you chose not to use the SAS Migration Utility. For details, see SAS Intelligence Platform: Migration Guide.
  • You are running SAS 9.3 in parallel with SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2, and you want to update your SAS 9.3 system with new content that you created in the earlier release.
The following information is important when you promote content to SAS 9.3 from an earlier version.

Promoting Personal Folders from SAS 9.2 to SAS 9.3

Options for Correctly Promoting Personal Folders from SAS 9.2

In SAS 9.2, users’ personal folders are located by default under a parent folder called Users. The name of this folder in your SAS 9.3 deployment depends on which approach you use to upgrade:
  • If you upgrade using the SAS Migration Utility, then the name of the folder (Users) is retained in SAS 9.3. You can promote users’ personal folders along with your other content without the need for additional steps.
  • If you choose not to use the SAS Migration Utility, then your SAS 9.3 deployment contains the new default name for the parent folder, which is User Folders. In this situation, you must use one of the approaches described in this section to correctly promote the content of your personal folders.
CAUTION:
If you do not use the SAS Migration Utility to upgrade from SAS 9.2 to SAS 9.3, be sure to follow the instructions in this section to ensure that your users’ personal folders will work properly after promotion.
You can use either of the following approaches to correctly promote your users’ personal folders:

Option 1: Promote Personal Folders to the New Location in SAS 9.3

You can promote users’ personal folders from SAS .2 to the new location (User Folders) in SAS 9.3. To do so, you must promote the personal folders separately from other metadata. In addition, you must promote the personal folders without promoting the Users folder itself. Follow these steps:
  1. Use SAS Management Console to connect to the SAS 9.2 metadata server, and select the Users node in the SAS Folders tree.
  2. In the right pane, select all of the personal folders that you want to export. (Press CTRL to enable the selection of multiple items.) Then right-click the mouse, select Export SAS Package, and complete the export.
  3. Use SAS Management Console to connect to the SAS 9.3 metadata server. Select the User Folders node in the SAS Folders tree, and import the package.

Option 2: Configure SAS 9.3 to Recognize the “Users” Folder Name, and Promote the Existing Folder

If you do not want to switch to the new folder name (User Folders) for personal folders, you can reconfigure SAS to use the previous folder name (Users). For instructions, contact SAS Technical Support.

Restriction on Specifying Locations for SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 Folders in a SAS 9.3 Custom Repository

In SAS 9.3, the import wizard and the batch import tool enable you to reorganize content as part of the promotion process. You can do so by specifying new folder locations for individual objects or folders that you are importing.
When you are importing SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 content to a custom repository, you cannot use this feature to change the location of a folder. However, you can use the feature to change the location of individual objects in the custom repository.

Promoting Dashboard Objects from SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 to SAS 9.3

Dashboard objects (including dashboards, indicators, indicator data, ranges, indicator configurations, and dashboard components) can be promoted only within the same release. To move these objects from a SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 deployment to a SAS 9.3 deployment, you must use the SAS Migration Utility.

Promoting Portal Content from SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 to SAS 9.3

To promote portal pages, page templates, portlet instances, and the portal's application and user permissions trees from SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2, use the content promotion tool for the SAS Information Delivery Portal 4.3. See About the Portal Promotion Tools in SAS Intelligence Platform: Web Application Administration Guide.

Converting Data Explorations to Reports after Promotion from SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 to SAS 9.3

In SAS 9.3, SAS Web OLAP Viewer is discontinued. After you have promoted your data explorations to SAS 9.3 from SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2, you can convert the bookmarks in your data explorations to SAS reports. The reports can then be viewed and edited using SAS Web Report Studio 4.3.
To ensure that the data explorations can be converted successfully, do the following when you promote them:
  • Import the information maps on which the data explorations depend to the same path in which they were located in the SAS 9.1.3 or SAS 9.2 environment.
    Or, if you choose to import the information maps to a different location, import the information maps first and then import the data explorations in a separate package. When you import the data explorations, be sure to specify the correct location for the information maps.
  • Rebuild any OLAP cubes that the data explorations depend on.
To perform the conversion, follow the manual steps that are described in Manually Convert Data Explorations to Reports.

Additional Considerations for Promoting Content from SAS 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3

Types of Objects That Can Be Promoted from 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3

In SAS 9.1.3, only the following types of objects can be exported: data explorations, deployed jobs, documents, external files, folders, generated transformations, information maps, jobs, jobs flows, libraries, mining results, notes, reports, stored processes, and tables. In SAS 9.2 and 9.3, a larger number of object types can be imported and exported.

Ensuring the Correct Software Version When Exporting from SAS 9.1.3

If you use BI Manager in SAS Management Console to perform the export, then the SAS 9.1.3 environment must have SAS Foundation Services 1.4. To check for this version:
  • On Windows, go to Settingsthen selectControl Panelthen selectAdd or Remove Programs and find the entry for SAS Foundation Services 1.4.
  • On UNIX machines, go the home directory of the user who maintains the SAS installation. Enter the following command:
    more vpd.properties | grep Foundation
    The following string should be present in the output that is displayed:
    SAS Foundation Services 1.4
If you use SAS Data Integration Studio to perform the export, then you must have SAS Data Integration Studio 3.4. To check the version, click Helpthen selectAbout SAS Data Integration Studio, and make sure that Version=3.4 is displayed in the window.

Promoting Tables and Libraries from SAS 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3

If you use SAS Management Console to export tables and libraries from a SAS 9.1.3 system, the tables and libraries must be in folders. To move them to folders, right-click the BI Manager node and select Collect Ungrouped Library Metadata. BI Manager places pointers to the libraries and tables in a folder called Shared Data, from which you can perform the export.
When you use the Import SAS Package Wizard to import tables from SAS 9.1.3, the following options are disabled: Keep target columns not found in the source, Include source columns not found in the target, and Change Analysis. For more information, see Use the Import Wizard’s Change Analysis Feature to Resolve Column Differences in Tables and External Files in SAS Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.

Promoting Prompts from SAS 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3

When you import a prompt from a SAS 9.1.3 system, the following special considerations apply:
  • The default values for multiple-value prompts are saved in reverse order.
  • If the prompt's static (custom) list of values contains a row that is invalid in SAS 9.3 (for example, if a row contains blank or null unformatted values), then the row is deleted.
  • If the prompt's static (custom) list of values contains duplicate formatted values, then each formatted value is appended with its corresponding unformatted value, which is enclosed in square brackets ([]).

Promoting OLAP Cubes from SAS 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3

To promote OLAP cubes from SAS 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3, use the ExportCubes and ImportCubes batch tools. For detailed instructions, see “Importing and Exporting SAS OLAP Cubes” in the SAS OLAP Server: User's Guide.

Promoting Metadata from SAS 9.1.3 to SAS 9.3 By Using the Batch Import Tool

You can use the batch import and export tools only with a SAS 9.2 or SAS 9.3 metadata server. You can use the batch import tool to import a package that was created by the export wizard in SAS 9.1.3. For details, see Using the Batch Import Tool to Import a Package That Was Created in SAS 9.1.3 in SAS Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.
CAUTION:
Use of the batch import tool to import SAS 9.1.3 packages can result in a significant number of broken metadata associations, such as tables with no associated library, jobs with missing tables, transformations within jobs with missing mappings, and expressions within mappings with missing columns.
As a best practice, you should use the batch import tool to import a SAS 9.1.3 package only if the resources associated with the imported objects have the same values in the two environments. Otherwise, it is strongly recommended that you use the import wizard in either SAS Management Console or SAS Data Integration Studio.
Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.